Abstract

Isolates of the genera Pasteurella and Mannheimia cause a wide variety of diseases of great economic importance in poultry, pigs, cattle and rabbits. Antimicrobial agents represent the most powerful tools to control such infections. However, increasing rates of antimicrobial resistance may dramatically reduce the efficacy of the antimicrobial agents used to control Pasteurella and Mannheimia infections. This review presents a short summary of the infections caused by Pasteurella and Mannheimia isolates in food-producing animals and the possibilities of preventing and controlling primary and secondary pasteurellosis. Particular reference is given to antimicrobial chemotherapy and the resistance properties of Pasterurella and Mannheimia isolates. The genetic basis of the most predominant resistance properties such as resistance to beta-lactam antibiotics, tetracyclines, aminoglycosides, sulfonamides, and chloramphenicol is discussed. This is depicted with reference to the role of plasmids and transposons in the spread of the resistance genes among Pasteurellaceae and members of other bacterial families and genera.